Lisp machines don't have a kernel, so it's more like everything is on your property and you don't have to ask anyone. You can change any code, including the microcode.
I know that's a hard concept for you weenies to wrap your head around. Your Intel CPU has a crappy version of UNIX that you can't get rid of, your EFI is written in C and sucks, and your kernel is bloated and sucks. In your world, it's hard to imagine a computer that doesn't suck, with an OS that's smaller than any one of those bloated C programs individually, but more powerful and more useful than all of them put together.
Your message to unix-haters of Tue, 24 Sep 1991 14:15:45 PDT was forwarded to all members of the computer research staff at MPCSL. I thought I would send you some comments. I have been a UNIX-hater for 15 years, which is how long I have been at MPCSL. I avoided the UNIX revolution until it was recently foisted on me. At MPCSL, we formerly had three completely incompatible programming environments: InterLISP, Smalltalk, and Cedar. This was viewed by the new powers as very bad and in need of fixing. So we moved to commercial UNIX-based platforms. So now we have about 30 incompatible systems (text editors and formatters, mail systems, versions of the OS, file formats, programming languages, window systems, window managers, toolkits, ... ). instead of three, with more being added every day. Top this with the incredible morass that is SunOS and it is no wonder that you are wondering. Up until recently, we owned everything from the hardware to the microcode to the applications. We could fix anything that broke at any level; we could evolve wonderful new systems. How do we "fix" the X11 releases or the SMTP protocol or SunRPC?? In my opinion, things got the way they are because market forces completely overwhelmed technological forces. Because UNIX was free (or nominally licensed) it came into wide use, first in CS and EE departments and later in the world. To some, moving from MS-DOS or worse, it seemed like a win. To those of us who have been around for a while and are aware of the alternatives, it seemed like a nightmare. We thought it would go away when users came to their senses. We were naive. Sigh. Meanwhile, thanks to BSD, UNIX grew like Topsy, or more like barnacles encrusting a sunken ship. Ultimately, UNIX began to be viewed by decision makers who were not technically competent as a panacea for competing technologies.
